A School at Last | Laird, Norton & Co. New Steam Saw Mill | Death by Drowning |Population Increasing | A Corection | Theft at the Bakery | Study Questions |
By the proceedings of a meeting of the trustees
of the several school districts in this town, published elsewhere in
this paper, it will be seen that the districts have united in favor
of establishing a High School, on the Union or graded system. The
trustees have also rented a building, engaged the services of a
Teacher, and made other arrangements for the immediate prosecution of
their design. This proceeding, we are confident, will meet with the
general approbation of our citizens. A good High School has been
greatly needed in this place for the last two years, but until quite
recently town lot speculation has engaged the attention of the people
to a pitch greater extent than schools, or anything else of an
intellectual or moral nature. The lull in that business produced by
the "hard times," has set some of the thinking ones back on the right
track, and now it is more than probable that a respectable
institution of learning will soon be established in our midst. We
sincerely hope so at least.
We learn that Mr. Tanner, the gentleman engaged as Principal of this
school is a young man who has received a thorough education for the
occupation of teaching, and that he graduated at Brown University
with high honors. He comes among us very highly recommended.
Besides the Principal, two assistant teachers are to be engaged, who
will take charge of the primary departments. The school, we are
informed, will be opened next week. To sustain this school properly
throughout the year, it will be necessary to levy a tax in each
district of about $500. This tax, with the amount appropriated for
school purposes from the county funds, will be sufficient to support
a school which will not only be a benefit but a credit to the place.
It is difficult to conceive that any person within the districts,
laying claims to intelligence and common sense, would grumble at
paying his proportion of the above amount for such a worthy
object.
Give us the school!
The Winona Republican--November 18,
1857
The scream of the steam whistle has frightened
the red man from his ancient possessions, and where but a very few
years ago the aborigines raised their savage war whoop, now is heard
the civilizing sound of the steam engine, the busy hum of commercial
and manufacturing industry, and the sweet peals of the church-going
bell. So we are led to reflect when looking around upon the many
substantial indications of progress which have but recently been
reared upon this beautiful prairie. Every day brings something new,
and so rapid are the achievements of modern skill, that even in this
infant city we endeavor to trace its progress almost in gain. But
ninety days ago, we noticed on the banks of the river, at the lower
end of the levee a collection of hewed and sawed timber of great size
and weight, which we were informed our enterprising fellow townsmen,
Messrs. Laird, Norton & Co., designed to use in the construction
of a steam saw mill. The time passed away, until last Saturday, being
at leisure, we called around, and were politely shown around the
premises by Mr. Norton, one of the proprietors, and Mr. Hayes, the
contractor, who gave us the following particulars concerning the
building.
The mill, as is perceivable from observation,
is perhaps the largest, best proportioned, and best finished
North-West of the Mississippi.--Its extreme length is 404 feet;
width, 68 1/2 feet; height 2 1/2 stories. The outside is all painted,
and over all is a fire-proof roof. Going inside, on the lower floor
the first thing that engaged our attention was the large and
handsomely executed engine, which is of 100-horse power; the bore is
16 1/2 inches, and the stroke 28. The flywheel is very large, being 9
feet in diameter and weighs upwards of 35,000 lbs. It was cast whole,
with the exception of the arms, which are of wrought iron, and the
whole is so securely welded or made fast together, as to make it of
great strength. The engine is set upon a foundation of stone, sunk
five feet below the level of the surrounding ground, and strongly
cemented together.
Adjoining the main building, on the east side, is the boiler house,
45 feet by 18 1/2, built of brick, and rendered fire-proof on all
sides. The boiler is 20 feet long, and 4 feet in diameter , and
contains 5 twelve-inch flues.
In the second story, are all the conveniences for sawing lumber,
laths, and shingles. The arrangements for raising the logs from the
water to the carriage way on this floor are of the most complete
modern kinds, and it is designed, we believe, that one log per minute
can be raised, by the appliance steam. The frame is so constructed,
the roof being a self-supporting one, that during the rafting season,
the logs can be immediately raised upon their arrival, and thrown out
through openings in the wall for this purpose, to any desired amount,
and with great ease. In the winter, they can again be taken around on
the ice, and raised as before, as fast as circumstances demand.
When fully completed , which will be in the
course of two or three weeks, there will be in operation in this mill
7 saws, capable of sawing per diem, 50,000 feet of lumber, 20,000
shingles, and 20,000 laths. The shingles, by the way, will be of a
superior kind, sawed length-wise of the timber instead of across, as
is usually done.
The whole appearance of this fine building, including its machinery,
etc., is that of solidity, and an admirable fitness for the purpose
for which it was designed. Everything about it betokens a skill and
knowledge of the business which is creditable to, and worthy of, the
contractor, H. B. Hayes, Esq., of Port Byron, Ill. This gentleman has
the reputation of being one of the best mill builders in the country,
and he has just accepted of a contract to build a very large one in
St. Louis. To the enterprising proprietors, Messrs. Laird, Norton
& Co. this building is a great honor, as we trust it will be a
profit. It has cost them in the neighborhood of $20,000--a sum which
some men we know of would prefer to let at four per cent , a
month, rather than invest it in a manner which would directly help to
develop the resources of the country, and tend to enrich the town, by
encouraging productive industry. In conclusion, we would remark, that
if any of our eastern readers, who think they know "more than a
little" about saw mills, could see the one above described, they
would be apt to stare some, and enquire "Where is the
West?"
Winona Republican--November 18, 1857.
On Saturday evening while in the river bathing, in company with a number of other boys, a little son of Mrs. Gooding, aged about 11 or 12 years, got out beyond his depth and was drowned, despite the exertions of several of his companions to save him. This case is particularly sad, as the bereaved woman is a widow, and the boy, who was remarkable for his intelligence and prepossessing appearance, was the only remaining one of her six children. May he who "tempers the wind to the shorn lamb," sustain the widow in her affliction. The body having disappeared, and not being yet found, it is requested that in the event of its being discovered by any one, intelligence may be sent to this place, in order that it may be sent here for interment.
Winona Republican--August 4, 1857
The immigration to the interior of the
Territory during the past month is sid to have been immense--as great
as at any time last year when everybody was coming west. Hundreds of
families, in their covered wagons, have been thronging the
thoroughfares leading out to the western counties of Southern
Minnesota, and even yet they are coming-coming-coming.--There is
still plenty of room for them in this garden of the North-west, and
something more than room--there is health, a fruitful soil, and the
foundation for homes of comfort, luxury and refinement, all to be for
little more than the getting. Let those who will come and claim the
boon.
Winona Republican--June 30, 1857
We were led into an error last week, in stating
that a man had been stabbed in a row at the City Hotel, as Mr.
Schlinck, the proprietor, assures us that no serious disturbance took
place at his house on that or any other occasion. The correction is
made with pleasure, as we know Mr. S. to be a young man of good
character, and his house is kept in an orderly manner.
Some scoundrel stole $85 in money from the counter of Miller's bakery, on Fourth street one evening last week, in the absence of the proprietor. A small portion of the amount was made up by subscription, the victims of the theft being poor and hard-working.
Winona Republican--November 18, 1857
Scratching Beneath the Surface:
NewsBits Study Questions
Wabasha Praire to Winona Home
